


Thank God for Jared Kleinman

by orphan_account



Series: Tatted Up [2]
Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Cute, First Dates, First Kisses, Fluff, M/M, Mentions of Suicide Attempt, Tattoos, alternative universe, tattor artist!connor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-09 23:53:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12899568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Evan finally goes on a date with Connor, thanks to the help of Jared.Continuation of my previous fic, "Tatted Up"





	Thank God for Jared Kleinman

**Author's Note:**

> Hey I continued it!  
> Rated T for mentions of Connor's suicide attempt.  
> If you haven't already, you should read the prequel to this titled "Tatted Up"!!!  
> Enjoy!

  
"Are you gonna call him, or what? I mean, you've been staring at his phone number for the past week. It's getting a little weird, dude." Jared said, lounging on his bed in their doom room. Evan, who was sitting on his own bed, clutched a piece of paper in his hand. Said paper was the receipt Connor had give him the week prior, when Evan had gotten his tattoo. Evan's tiny tree was healing nicely, as was Jared's Pokeball.  
Evan had re-read the question Connor wrote on the small paper. " _wanna get dinner sometime?_ " In all honesty, Evan did want to get dinner with Connor. However, it wasn't that easy. At least not for Evan. He was well known for his crippling anxiety. Of course he couldn't do something as simple as contacting Connor.  
"I-I can't just call him, Jared! What if he, he changed his mind, and he doesn't w-want to talk to me anymore?  
Jared snorted, turning to face Evan. "Ev, he was super happy to see you. You're overthinking this. How about you send him a text? That way, you won't even have to open your mouth." He suggested. Evan thought it over. He really did want to get back in touch with Connor. He couldn't forget how he felt last week. Connor had made him weak, but in a good way.  
"I, uh, guess that could work? But, I-I have a lot of calculus work to do, and I've got that,um, essay due in English in a few days. And if I don't get it done now then I'll nev-" Evan continued to ramble until Jared got out of his bed and stole Evan's phone.  
"Hey!" Evan cried, trying to reach for his cell phone. Despite Jared being shorter than Evan, the blond male couldn't reach his phone. He watched as Jared typed out a message, which he assumed would be sent to Connor. A few moments later, Jared offered the phone back to Evan, which he snatched out of Jared's hand.  
"Why would you do that?!" Evan questioned, feeling his anxiety begin to build. Jared shrugged in reply, giving Evan a cocky smirk. Evan decided to assess the damage Jared had done.  
**Hey, Connor! It's Evan Hansen! I was wondering if you're free tonight.**  
**Maybe we could do something? Let me know!**  
Evan frowned at the message. Jared had disregared everything he had said about his school work! Before he could say anything to Jared, his phone vibrated in his hand.  
**hey evan. i get done work in an hour. ill come pick you up and we can get some food. send me your address**  
Evan was in a state of shock. It actually worked? Jared being an asshole has finally led to something good? Evan quickly typed out the address to the college, and told him that they could meet at the enterance of the campus. Evan couldn't help but smile a little.  
"I think you owe me a thank you. And an apology." Jared said, seeing Evan obvious happiness.  
"T-thank you, Jared. I'm sorry."  
"No worries, man. Now we gotta get you ready for your date!"  
It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that neither Evan nor Jared knew anything about fashion. Considering Evan's go-to outfit was a stripped polo and kahkis, and Jared's was a graphic tee and shorts, figuring out an outfit for Evan was a bit tough. They settled on a navy blue button up and a pair of blue jeans that Evan had stuffed in the back of his drawer. Jared gave Evan a thumbs up after inspecting the outfit.  
"Lookin' good, my dude. Oh, here. You might need this." Jared slipped something into Evan's hand. Evan looked down at the thing in his hand before blushing and dropping it to the floor.  
"I-I don't need a condom, Jared!" Evan hissed, wiping his hand on his jeans as if he'd been tainted by the wrapped rubber. Jared was doubled over in pain from laughing so hard. He stood up and wiped his eyes.  
"I'm just looking out for you. You don't know what kind of dieases Murphy has!" Jared said.  
"I'm not having sex with him!" Evan shouted. He then covered his mouth after remembering that they were in the dorm, and their neighbors could hear him.  
"You never know! You should take it just in case!" Jared insisted with a grin. Evan shook his head before leaving their room to go finish getting ready in the shared bathroom. By the time he was done, Connor had texted him that he was on his way.  
"Connor's going to be here soon. I'll see you later, ok?" Evan informed Jared. The shorter male pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.  
"They grow up so fast."  
Evan rolled his eyes at Jared's antics. He grabbed his keys, cell phone, and wallet and headed out the door. By the time he got to the entrance of the campus, he could see Connor's old Jeep waiting for him. He could feel the nervousness flaring up again, and it finally hit him that he was going on a date with Connor Murphy.  
He found it hard to breathe, and he wanted to just run back to his dorm room and curl up on his bed. But then Jared would be there, and he'd question Evan why he didn't go. He also couldn't just bail on Connor now that he was already here. He'd feel even worse about the situation then he did now!  
He stopped walking and just breathed. He took a few more deep breaths before he started feeling somewhat better. He could do this. Everything would be ok.  
He continued his walk to Connor's car. When he opened the door, Connor greeted him with a smile.  
"Hey."  
Evan already felt butterflies in his stomach, just from Connor's smile.  
"H-hi, Connor. Sorry I didn't text you sooner. I was, uh, busy..." That was a lie. He had plently of free time in the past week, which he spent binge watching shows on Netflix. But Connor didn't need to know that.  
"It's fine, Evan. Don't worry about it.

"Ok,sorry."  
"You don't have to apologize."

"Sorry..." Evan internally cringed. He was _ruining_ it. Connor didn't seem to mind, though. He pulled out of the college campus and onto the dimly-lit road.  
"Is there any place in particular you wanna go?" Connor asked. Evan shook his head, before realising that Connor was focusing on the road and couldn't see him.  
"N-no. I don't mind where we go."

"Cool. I have a great place in mind."  
The ride lapsed into silence, though it wasn't awkward like Evan was used to. It was peaceful. Evan listened as Connor hummed to a song that played from the radio, but Evan didn't recognize it.  
"We're here!" Connor annouced as he pulled into a parking lot.  
"A La Mode?" Evan asked. He'd been here once or twice, but he knew it was an ice cream place. Not exactly a spot for dinner.  "Hell yeah. They have the best ice cream. I've been coming here all the time since I was little. Don't worry. They have actual food, too."  
Evan nodded, and they exited the car. The place was pretty empty inside, but that's to be expected on a Wednesday night. They took a seat in a booth, and waited for their waitress. Evan took a second to look at Connor. He was dressed in his normal black attire. Evan felt overdressed in his button up.  
"You look really good tonight, Evan." Connor commented, as if he could read Evan's mind. Evan's face quickly turned red.  
"T-thanks. You look g-good too!" Connor grinned at the compliment.  
"So, what have you been up to, Ev? It feels like I haven't really talked to you in forever."  
Connor wasn't wrong. They hadn't talked in over two years, since graduation. Evan kind of felt bad that they stopped talking.  
"Oh, I'm, um, in my second year of college. I also work at the Pottery Barn a few days a week." Even told him. His life was _super exciting_.  
"You're an enviormental science major, right? That's pretty cool." Connor said.  
"Yup! I'm hoping to work at a national park in a few years. What about you?" He asked, but immeditely back peddled. "I-I mean I know you, you work at the tattoo shop. B-but do you, um, do anything else? N-not that what you do isn't cool! I-I think you're great at tattooing! But is, is that all you do? W-wait, I'm sorry! T-that came out wrong. I didn't mean-" Evan was rambling and panicking  
"Evan," Connor cut him off. "Calm down. You didn't do anything wrong." He assured. Evan nodded, but didn't dare open his mouth again. Evan noticed the waitress was finally making her way over to them. She placed two menus on the table.  
"Can I start you two off with some drinks?" She asked.  
"Raspberry iced tea." Connor stated. She wrote it down on a note pad before turning to Evan.  
"And what about you?" Evan didn't have enough time to rehearse what he was going to say. But if he didn't say anything, that would make things even more awkward.  
"W-water. Please." He forced out. It was quiet, but the waitress seemed to hear him, thankfully. She left to go get their drinks.  
"Are you ok?" Connor asked. Evan nodded shakily.  
"Y-yeah. It's just my, um, anxiety?" He said it like it was a question. Connor frowned.  "We can leave, if you want." "N-no! I don't want to leave. I'll be fine!" Evan forced a smile. Connor still seemed unsure, but he didn't push the subject.  
"To answer your question," Connor began, "I work full time at the tattoo shop. Six days a week. It's nice, though. I really enjoy tattooing, as you can probably tell." Connor rolled up the sleeves on his jacket to show off his array of tattoos. Evan was amazed. He'd seen them last week, but he never got the chance to really look at them.  
All the tattoos on Connor's arms were in black ink; there was no color at all. The tattoos ranged from simple shapes, to swirling lines, and even full out scenes. Evan really liked the one of the UFO abducting someone.  
"They're amazing!" Evan exclaimed.  
"Thanks. Did them all myself."  
"R-really?"  
Evan knew Connor loved art in high school. A majority of his classes were art based. It was one of the things Connor really seemed to enjoy, and he was good at it, too. The fact that Connor had done his own tattoos wasn't super surprising, but it was still a bit unexpected.  
"Yep. I decided to get my first tattoo the day after graduation. After that, I just hung around the tattoo shop, and learned how to do them." Connor pushed his hair away from his right ear to show the small tattoo hidden behind it. It was a semi-colon. Evan wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what it meant, and why Connor had gotten it.  
Before Evan and Connor had become friends, Connor had attempted to take his own life. It didn't work, though, and Evan was glad he failed. Connor didn't like to talk about it, so Evan wasn't sure what had actually happened. After his attempt, Connor had started getting help. He seemed to be better now then he was in high school.  
"I like it. It's nice." Evan said.  
The waitress returned with their drinks, and both Evan and Connor had realized that they hadn't even glanced at the menu. Evan settled on chicken tenders, because those were usually safe to eat no matter where you go. Connor ordered a veggie burger. With a smile, the waitress left to go put in their orders.  
Connor took a sip of his iced tea, "So how's your mom?"  
"She's, uh, good. She's almost done her college classes to become a p-paralegal. She's pretty happy about that." Evan answered.  
"That's great. If she needs a job when she's done, my dad's place is usually hiring."  
"I'll, um, pass on the message. W-what about your family?" Evan asked, but immediately felt like he shouldn't have. Connor didn't have the best relationship with his parents or sister.  
"They're fine, I guess. Better than before. I don't live with them anymore, and Zoe is going to a college in California for pyschology." Connor replied.  
"You live on your own?" "Yep. Saved up my money and moved out last year. I live in a shitty apartment, but it's good enough." "T-that's pretty, uh, cool. I live in the dorms and share a room with Jared. It's hard sometimes because Jared can be..." Evan trailed off, not wanting to insult his friend.  
"The biggest asshole in the world?" Connor finished. Evan laughed.  
"Sometimes. He can be good, too. Like tonight. He helped me talk to you!"  
"Wow, I never thought i'd be saying this, but thank God for Jared Kleinman." Connor chuckled. Both of them ended up laughing together. A few minutes later, the waitress returned with their food. They continued to talk and laugh while they ate. Evan felt a lot more at ease than he had early. He liked spending time with Connor.  
Once they were finished, Connor looked at him with a grin.  
"Ready for the best part."

"What's that?"

"Ice cream, of course!"  
Evan couldn't help but smile, because Connor seemed so happy. He'd never seen Connor his happy. It made his heart race.  
Connor got a rocky road, and Evan ordered a strawberry. Both cups of ice cream were piled high with toppings. Evan started to pull out his wallet to pay for his ice cream and meal. Connor quickly stopped him.  
"I got it." He told Evan.  
"Are you sure?" Evan felt bad for not paying.  
"I'm positive." Connor said with a smile. The taller male handed over his bank card to the cashier and paid their bill. When he was finished, the two left A La Mode with their ice cream.  
"I want to take you somewhere before you go home." Connor said. Evan nodded. His homework could wait a little bit longer. They got into Connor's Jeep. Connor drove with one hand, the other holding his cup of ice cream. If it was anyone else driving, Evan would probably be having a panic attack. But with Connor, he was fine, for some odd reason.  
Connor pulled into the parking lot of a place Evan recoginzed. It was the old apple orchard that he and Connor used to sneak into. It had been closed down for years, leaving dead apple trees to occupy the orchard. But now, it was different.  
"There was a Kickstarter online to reopen the orchard up. It just opened a few days ago." Connor explained. They wandered into the orchard, and Evan noticed the rows of baby apple trees. It was nice, a lot nicer than it had been the last time he was here.  
Evan and Connor took a seat on a bench. The sun was just beginning to set and everything looked beautiful. They ate their ice cream in peaceful silence, just enjoying the view and each other's company.  
"I had a great time tonight." Connor said, throwing his empty ice cream cup into a trash can.  
Evan did the same. "Me too."  
"I guess I should take you back now."  "Connor, wait." Evan grabbed Connor's hand. The taller male looked at him in confusion.  
"What is it?" Evan's heart was beating fast. His thoughts were running a mile a minute. A blush was creeping up onto his face. He looked Connor in the eyes.  
"Can I kiss you?"  
Connor looked a bit surprised, but quickly nodded. Evan stood on the tips of his toes while Connor bent down slightly. Slowly, their lips mets. The kiss was soft and nice. Evan felt like his heart was going to burst. It lasted a few seconds before both males pulled away, both of their faces red.  
Neither of them really knew what to say after that.  
"C-can we do something like this again?" Connor stuttered. Evan giggled slightly.  
"Definetly."  
When Evan returned to the dorm, Jared was waiting to hear every detail.  
"... and then we kissed."  
Jared squealed like a school-girl.  
"And people say i'm good for nothing!" Jared said.  
Evan laughed and repeated what Connor had said earlier.  
"Thank god for Jared Kleinman."

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on tumblr!!  
> Spacedloser.tumblr.com


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